


Brother Bonds

by LazyPerfectionist



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Hunter X Hunter, Naruto
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Family Drama, Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26454193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyPerfectionist/pseuds/LazyPerfectionist
Summary: To what length do we protect family?
Kudos: 14





	Brother Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> In this piece, Illumi Zoldyck and Itachi Uchiha are having a conversation. It’s meant to feel dreamlike. When things are in bold, it is a shared thought. Otherwise they speak line by line. It should be clear who’s speaking when.

_[Itachi Uchiha and Illumi Zoldyck face each other, sitting at a table for two as though in interrogation. There is a single hanging light between them that appears to be more like a spotlight above the two. Itachi appears no different from a fresh corpse, but his young adult features are preserved. His face is expressionless like Illumi’s and despite being three years younger than the latter, the deep grooves in the center of Itachi’s visage make him look slightly older and wearier. Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s dead. This effect is compounded when Itachi lets out a soft sigh and tucks a lock of hair behind his ear. He speaks first.]_

> We are not the same, but we are not very different.

_[Illumi initially does not respond, but then he leans forward, leaning his elbows on the table. His voice is nonchalant, as usual.]_

> I protected my family.

_[He aims to sound light, but Itachi recognizes the faint defensive edge in his voice. He knows what it’s like to wear a mask constantly.]_

> I rid my family of sin.

_[Illumi smirks and leans back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. It’s meant to be flippant.]_

> I uphold their mission. There is no sin.

> They are the sin.

_[Illumi almost seems to react to Itachi’s quick reply, the muscles in his forearms tensing for a split second. Almost. Itachi laughs quietly]_

> I loved my younger brother.

> As did I.

> I lived, you died.

> You lied.

**I stood for the truth.**

_[Itachi lets out a laugh that is slightly off-putting.]_

> You can’t handle the truth.

> You preferred to lie.

_[This time, Itachi tenses. He smiles but it is both taunting and sad. He muses:]_

> My brother loved me wholeheartedly and I was his first heartbreak.

**But I will forever be the most important thing in the world to him.** **I spurred him to greatness with harsh love.**

[Itachi sneers when he realizes Illumi feels the same way.]

> Your brother hates you.

> So did yours.

_[Illumi is satisfied with his curt response, a very smug smile flashes on his face for a moment.]_

**Is it wrong to be hated as long as you are constantly on their mind?**

> He grew strong.

_[Itachi reminisces slightly on seeing his brother grow up as he watches from above.]_

> He continues to grow stronger. 

_[Illumi thinks fondly of the first time he saw his brother’s first directed threat at him. He remembers the first time he saw him use Nen.]_

> As he grew older, he came to terms with our childhood. With what I did to him. To us.

_[Itachi thinks of Sarada, who he has never met. He thinks of Sakura who has been by his side the entire time and has promised to give him a family. He thinks of Naruto who was his brother’s first real friend and soulmate.]_

> He will see the light soon and realize our way of life was always right.

_[Illumi thinks of Gon for a split second and while his face is blank, his disdain is palpable.]_

> He’ll resent you forever. We are not the same.

_[Itachi again looks pointedly at Illumi, but Illumi now smiles, knowing that he has rattled his conversation partner.]_

> But we are not very different. After all, you offered up your life for his.

_[Illumi knows he would die for Killua. He would do anything as long as it keeps him on the straight path of Zoldyck assassinhood.]_

_[Itachi takes a final look at Illumi, knowing that Illumi will not change, regardless of what he says to him tonight. But regardless, he says one last thing.]_

> You’d die for him, all the same. But will it be worth it in the end?

> Of course. We are brothers.

**And I will always protect him.**


End file.
